The Tale of Aeon Calcos
by DeltaSpark662
Summary: Aeon Calcos, the Lizardman, finds himself in the home of a human, a young psychic named Myles. With the help of this man, Aeon can finally tell his story and hopefully remember what took him from being a noble, god-fearing Spartan soldier of Hephaestus, to a ruthless devourer of men and subservient of Ares.
1. Prologue

The Tale of Aeon Calcos

Prologue

My name is Myles, and I have made the discovery of a lifetime.

In my travels, I had heard of fearsome, lizard-like creatures that terrorize and destroy all before them. They are said to be creatures that are as much like men as animals, but are ultimately all monsters. They are said to use weaponry, swords, shields, axes, things of that nature. No one knows where they came from, but they know to stay away from them, or kill them. Well, it would seem I'm at an impasse with myself on what exactly to do now.

I have actually found one of these creatures in the woods this morning while I was hunting in the woods behind my house. It was just like how the stories had described these lizards, scales from head to toe, with claws on its hands and feet. Thankfully for me, this one was unconscious on the forest floor. It was remarkable really, the way the morning sun shined through the foliage onto this creature, causing its scaly skin to glimmer slightly, its bloody wounds even more so. Its mouth was slightly open, revealing two arrays of very sharp-looking teeth. Its armor had taken some damage, and its weapons, two sizable bloodstained hand axes, were on the ground at its clawed feet. Clearly, a fierce battle had just taken place. With much curiosity, I put my tracking skills to work. It was impossible to tell how much of the blood was the creatures and how much was its opponent's, but I soon noticed a small discontinuous trail leading from a nearby stream. I followed it with my eyes, but saw no one past the trees, so this battle had been over for a long enough time that the lizard's opponent had fled to safety. Clearly, whoever fought this thing caught a break by being knocked into that stream, otherwise there would likely be two bodies here, one of them possibly half-eaten, if those parts of the stories are true.

I was prepared to leave the creature behind, not wanting to stay and potentially be an unwilling witness to its wrath. It was only as I began to walk away that I heard something.

"…his enemy now…I am his…"

A voice…from the creature? I turned and moved back towards the creature. I kneeled down to it and cautiously put my hand on its head, right above its eye.

"Hephaestus…how could…"

This thing was actually thinking! From what I heard, these lizard creatures are nothing short of monsters, capable only of fighting and devouring all in their path. But this one may be different if it is thinking in a very human voice. I stood up and ran along the forest path back to my house. I returned about thirty minutes later with a large two-wheeled cart that I usually use to haul firewood or game, hoping the creature hadn't got up and left, and was relieved to see it still there. After some effort, I loaded it and its axes into the cart and began to push it back home.

Within seconds, my common sense began to speak to me. I am taking a dangerous looking monster home with me like some child who has found a wild animal. I am not being wise by helping this thing. I am bringing its weapons along and keeping them in the cart with the creature. I am almost asking it to eat me once it wakes up. Indeed, that may very well happen, and it would be absolutely terrible. It wouldn't even need its weapons to do that; as heavy as it is, it could easily pounce on top of me and begin clawing and biting away! The creature kept thinking though, mentioning Hephaestus and betrayal, and although it was clearly troubled, its thoughts somehow comforted mine.

Soon we arrived at my home at the edge of the woods and I began to make preparations. I cleared a spot on the floor for the creature to lie, and I got out all the herbal remedies and medicines I had. Then, carefully, I dragged the creature inside, leaving its axes in the cart, and then I went to work on its wounds. It growled and stirred the moment I began treatment, obviously not a fan of the burn caused by the medicine when applied to wounds. I immediately stopped and took several steps back. My sword was sheathed in its scabbard and leaning in the corner by my door. I took it but did not draw it, as the sight of a drawn weapon might frighten and anger the creature.

Several seconds later, its eyes snapped open and it grasped its arm where I had begun treating the wounds. I stepped back again, almost against the wall.

"Ah…what is this burning and stinging?" it thought. Its gaze turned to me, sat up, and I fought the urge to draw my sword.

"Who are you? Where am I? Where are my weapons?" Its thoughts were seemed just as fearful as they were threatening.

"My name is Myles," I said, "you're safe now."

"Safe?" it thought, "Why would this human, any human, tell me I'm safe…?"

"Because I found you in the woods and you were dying."

My almost conversational manner seemed to have intrigued the beast, who began to sit up and study me.

"Hmm," it thought, "this human sounds oddly sincere."

"Yes," I replied, "I am totally sincere here. I knew there was something different about you the moment I heard you. How do you know about Hephaestus?"

"What did you say?" It growled and began to stand. Oh no, what did I say? "How are you hearing me, where did you hear me say anything? Tell me!" It took a step before it winced and groaned.

"Please! Lay back down, your wounds are bleeding again." To my surprise, it got on one knee, but it kept staring at me; it wanted answers. "Look, I'm sorry if I started you, but please calm down, I don't want to hurt you." I heard a small chuckle from the beast's mind, as if I could even hurt him. "Yes, I know, I don't look like much, you don't have to laugh."

"What, laugh? How did you-"

"Yes, I can hear you in there. I can hear what people are thinking, and I've been able to since I was born." It sat silent, pondering my words, wondering if they were true. He then looked up at me and gave a small snarl.

"So," it thought, "Myles, was it?"

"Yes," I replied, "Who are you?"

"My name…it is…" it paused for a moment, "Aeon! Aeon…no there was more…Aeon…Calcos…yes! My name is Aeon Calcos."

I gasped at the name.

"Is something the matter?" Aeon asked, noticing I was suddenly somewhat flustered.

"Uh, no!" I said, "No, nothing's wrong, I just wasn't expecting you to have a name."

"Hm, no harm done." Aeon made another sound, one that sounded like he was content, satisfied with what he had heard. "I apologize for my hostility earlier. Hephaestus and I have a rather long and bad history together."

"Is that so? What happened, Aeon?"

"It's not important."

"Are you sure? I'm willing to listen." Aeon looked at me, considering his options.

"Actually," he said, "that's something significant; unlike every other human out there you _can_ listen to me because you know what I'm saying, or rather, what I'm thinking. Furthermore, you haven't run away or tried to kill me, and you have had ample opportunities to do either."

"So, does that mean that you'll…"

"Yes, I'll tell you my story. Everything I can remember, anyways."

"Excellent! Just a moment, I have an idea."

I proceeded to rummage through my bookshelf as Aeon watched with intrigue and amusement.

"Ah, here they are," I said, pulling two leather-bound books from the middle shelf. "When I was younger, I would take one of these books, sit out by the fountain in the town square and write down every thought I heard and could understand. It was great practice, especially around midday when the place was crowded."

Aeon chuckled, "I'm sure it was. So, you're going to write down everything I think?"

"Yes," I replied, "is that okay?"

"I suppose so. By the way, where are my weapons?"

"Oh, they're right outside. You can get them later."

"No. I'll get them now." Aeon began to stand but groaned and sat back down. "Gah, these injuries are as bad as they look."

I smiled. "Then it's a good thing I found you."

I sat at my desk and began to write.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Aeon Calcos. My dreams tell me that this is my name, who I am. Yes, my dreams which have invaded my sleep for over ten years, each one a long-lost memory. They are fragmented, however, with so much missing. I do remember the departure, somewhat. There were twenty-four of us, men and women of all upbringings who were chosen to carry weapons created by Hephaestus himself into battle against something call Soul Edge. Yes, Soul Edge, this blade is something I seek to this day, but not for Hephaestus, not anymore. I remember accepting this duty without question and leaving home. Home…where was home…what was home…? My dreams haven't revealed this, I'm afraid.

I left home with my "holy" sword and shield in my hands, determined to fulfill my mission and please the "great" Hephaestus. What a fool I was…no, I'm fine. As I have mentioned before, I have a bad history with Hephaestus. I think this is where that begins.

Next, I remember…a desert. Yes, sands that rolled for miles, with nothing else to be seen or heard. The merciless heat from the sun, beating me down, was rapidly exhausting my strength. I can feel it even to this day, the absolute exhaustion, the hopeless isolation. I remember…a cry for help. From me. I cried out to someone…Hephaestus? Again, my dreams are just as broken and in pieces as a broken mirror, a mirror reflecting my past, my life from so long ago…an entirely different life altogether, it seems…

What happened next? I recall…a village, built around an oasis in the desert. The people were kind. Yes, I have had many a good dream with these people, before I was a monster. In one such dream, I hear laughing as a young man struggled to use his shield. But he kept practicing, with me…yes, I was striking his shield with my sword, teaching him how to block. I was teaching them all how to fight, how to defend themselves. Their isolation made them targets for brigands, and for saving me, I wanted to save them. I even remember some of these bandits, running from the village, away from me. The villagers, they looked so happy…

And then…the nightmares…

I wish I could forget these, but even as broken as they are, they still haunt me. All I remember is death, terror, blood, and screams. Images of people, torn and ripped asunder. Was it me? I…I don't understand…why would I kill these people? They saved me and I…

"Aeon, are you alright?"

Myles set down his quill and walked to me behind his desk. My hands were clenched to my head, and I was breathing heavily, unable to go on with recalling my terrible dreams.

"Look, we can take a break if you need to," Myles assured me.

"No, no," I replied, "I can finish…it's just…so painful, more than I remember." I wasn't sure what was wrong with me. I see violence and carnage all the time, and it is often caused by me and my fellow lizardmen. This dream, this memory, it was different. I had struck down defenseless men, women…ah…and even children.

Myles put his hand to my head and closed his eyes. Moments later, he gasped and reared back, shaken to his core. He had seen my dream for himself.

"Aeon…that was…you…the village, they…" Myles covered his face and shook his head. He rose up and went outside.

"Myles," I called mentally, but he kept walking, not even closing the door behind him. I wanted to go to him, but with my wounds, I had to stay put. This is why I sometimes wish I never had these dreams; the nightmares seem to obliterate the good dreams, making them seem almost pointless, as if nothing good had ever happened in the past. That village, everyone in it, dead by my hand, but why? Why did I slaughter all those villagers, people I had sworn to teach self-defense? Could they have even tried to defend themselves against me? Have I been a monster for longer than I thought?

As my mind raced with questions, I noticed Myles reenter the house, still clearly dazed by my dream, his brown eyes staring downward and his mouth still slightly open. It was approaching dusk outside, with warm rays of sunlight pouring in through the open doorway and the windows on each side. It brought me a strange comfort, almost making me forget what had shaken us both so severely.

Myles sat back down and said, "Okay…do you wish to go on?" I nodded and began to think, prompting him to resume his hasty scribbling.


End file.
